


Passage

by Malana



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-26
Updated: 2012-11-26
Packaged: 2017-11-19 14:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/574182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malana/pseuds/Malana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spike is looking for a ride.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Passage

**Author's Note:**

> This was written ages ago, for a ficathon over at Twisting the Hellmouth. I was going through some of my old stuff, and thought this one was kind of fun. 
> 
> This is set post-Angel/BtVs, ignoring anything from the comics. For Firefly, it's sometime after War Stories and before Serenity.

Spike stood in front of the line of ships, frowning. How was he supposed to pick out a ship when he knew absolutely nothing of the technology, and had no specific destination in mind? Right now his only wish destination wise was “somewhere other than this dusty hellhole. 

Caprious. That was the name of the planet he was on. Spike had been in some pretty bad locales over the years, but this was one of the worst. Everything was dust and horses. It was like being back in the frontier times. The only good thing was that the people here were easily bought off. And after stealing some money, he had been easily able to acquire a supply of blood. The little extra gold had gotten him a cooler system to keep the blood cold, and a lack of questions.

Spike really hated portals. Portals were shit. They never took you anywhere good. You never got sucked through a portal and ended up in a land of beautiful leggy nymphomaniacs with a thing for guys with cold hands. 

Nope. Instead, portals took you to a shitty backwater planet in a future where the Earth has been destroyed. It took him a little while to figure that part out, actually. When he first got zapped through, he thought he might have been flung back into the Old West. Of course, all the people speaking Chinese had confused him, but he figured it was the Old West in some parallel universe. Still might be in a parallel universe, come to think of it. The only thing he was glad for was that he had come here during the night. If it had been daytime, then he’d currently be just one more pile of dust in a town that was already covered in the stuff.

But that hardly mattered. What mattered was he didn’t have any way to get home. And he couldn’t stay on Caprious any longer. Never stay in one place too long when you’re stealing from people. Someone will catch on. And when you’re never seen during the day, people start asking questions. You can’t afford to pay everybody off. 

Hell. Spike shook his head. He wanted to get out of here, but he just couldn’t pick out one of these ships. Not without knowing some more about them. He decided to hit the nearest bar. See if he could overhear anything about any of these ships, or any of the ships’ crews. Always good to know something about the people you’re traveling with. Like whether or not they’re likely to drive a stake through a bloke’s heart if they catch him drinking a bag of blood. 

There were bars all along the street. Spike had tried them all. His favorite, and the one he headed toward now, was a joint called “The Blooded Pig.” It was a rough place, which in Spike’s mind was the best kind. Fights were a normal occurrence there; deaths weren’t infrequent. A guy could really have fun in a place bar like that. It was more of a old-time saloon, really. 

When he entered the smell of stale alcohol and old blood hit him like a wave. He walked over to the bar, and nodded to the one-eared man who stood behind it. The bartender put a shot glass in front of him, and poured him a shot of the house specialty. Spike wasn’t sure exactly what it was. He hadn’t wanted to ask, really. It had a murky sort of color to it that was a tad worrisome. Of course, even one shot of it was enough to make most worries disappear, replaced by a fuzzy haze. The stuff was strong. It was like drinking pure grain alcohol, only it tasted of piss. But again, a couple of shots shot and you tended to forget about the taste.

There were two men sitting at a table near the door. One was handsome and clean-shaven; the other was a little gruffer and was wearing a funny knit hat, the kind with earflaps. Spike was good at sniffing out the shifty sort, and these two definitely had something of a criminal element to them. The perfect people to ask about finding a ship that wouldn’t ask too many questions of perspective passengers.

“Evening.”

“Evening,” the cleaner of the two replied, sizing him up with a look.

“You two gentlemen have any recommendations for transportation off this pile of dirt?”

The two at the table exchanged glances before the one who had offered greetings looked back at him.

“Well, we just might. But that would depend. Where are you looking to go?”

Spike shook his head, “Destination’s not really important. I’m just hoping to fly under the radar for a little while.”

Again, glances were exchanged.

“You in trouble?” This time it was the man in the hat that spoke.

“Not the kind that would follow me. Not yet anyway. I’d like to get out of here before that happens.”

“You sound pretty sure it’ll happen eventually.”

“What can I say,” Spike said with a shrug. “I tend to make enemies. I guess I’m just not a people person.”

The handsome man smiled slightly. Spike figured he was the probably the other one’s boss. 

“It just so happens I’ve got a ship full of non-people people.”

“Kaylee’s a people-person, Mal.”

“Jayne,” the first guy, Mal, said with a sigh.

“Wash is too.”

“Jayne.”

“Hell, Zoe gets on with people pretty good too. The Shepherd's friendly to everybody. The Doc likes people too, even if he is a stuffy jerk. Moon-Brain’s gets along with people when she’s not acting all crazy-like. Only person who’s not a people-person is you. And me, I guess.”

“Jayne! Shut up!”

Spike just stood back and watched the exchange with amusement. 

Mal turned back to him, “I’m Malcolm Reynolds. This freak of nature is Jayne Cobb. Ship is Serenity. She’s a Firefly. The best ship you’ll find out there,” he nodded toward the door. “You wanna go see her?”

Just then the doors to the bar slammed open. Three large, burly, men stood in the doorway. They were all dirty, with torn clothing and unkempt hair. The one in the middle, the largest one, had a large scar that cut across his face from his right eye to the left corner of his lip. He pointed directly at the table where Spike stood.

“Jayne Cobb!” he shouted. “You’re dead.”

Spike looked at the pair at the table. Mal just shook his head. Spike could tell that this was not the first time something like this had happened. 

Jayne got to his feet, picking up the large glass mug that sat on the table in front of him. 

With a sigh, Mal stood up as well. “Now, gentlemen,” he began, “We don’t want any trouble.”

Mal may not want any trouble, but the three men in the doorway most certainly did. The one who had called Jayne’s name advanced quickly, taking a swing that Jayne managed to duck at the last second. 

The others, a blond and a bald man each pulled out weapons, a knife and a bat respectively. 

Spike stood back for a moment, wondering whether he really wanted to get involved in this fight. When Jayne brought a chair down on his attacker’s head, Spike smiled and let out a laugh. Who was he kidding? It was a fight; of course he wanted to get involved. 

He had missed fighting during those years when that blasted chip was in his head. And there was nothing he enjoyed more than a good bar brawl. There were no rules, and no real sense of purpose beyond beating the shit out of the guy in front of you. 

Spike quickly took in the brawny trio, trying to decide which he should take on. Jayne seemed to be holding his own, and when the blond moved toward Mal, who immediately threw a punch that connected with the guy;s nose, Spike decided the bald guy was his. 

Spotting a pool table he grinned and grabbed a cue. He loved weapons. And it was only fair. After all, the other guy had a bat. 

Spike stepped towards his chosen opponent. “Hello, mate. Ready to have some fun?”

The guy made the mistake of swinging with the bat right away. Spike easily sidestepped the attack and reached out, grabbing the bat and yanking it from the guy’s hand. 

Spike grinned, “My turn.” He brought the bat around hard across the guy’s face, smiling in satisfaction at the loud cracking sound it made. The smile turned into a frown when the guy immediately went down. Spike had been hoping for more of a fight.

He turned around just in time to see that the guy with the knife getting the upper hand on Mal. He had up against the wall, and Mal was struggling trying to keep the blade from sinking into his face. 

Spike turned toward the bar and grabbed a glass. He brought it down sharply on the counter-top and when it broke picked up one of the shards. He turned back and threw it hard. It went directly into the back of the guy’s neck and he reeled back, releasing Mal and sinking to the floor. 

Mal looked down at the guy, surprise written on his face. He looked up at Spike. “Well, that was a right nifty piece of handy-work there.”

Spike nodded in acknowledgement. He glanced over to see Jayne standing over another inert form.

“Mal, I think we better be getting out of here.”

“Yeah, Jayne. I don’t disagree. But then you and me are gonna have a talk ‘bout you pissing off the locals.” Mal turned toward Spike, “You still looking for a ride?”

“This seems like a good time to be going.”

And with that, the three of them hurried from the bar. 

They had been walking for a few minutes when Mal pointed up ahead to a ship. “That’s her there.”

Spike frowned. It looked a little bit rustic. But then again, what did he know about spaceships? It could be that this thing was the cutting edge technology, but Spike had his doubts. Guys like Mal and Jayne didn’t fly in the newest, fastest ship. They did, however, tend to fly in something that would last, something you could count on in a tight spot. That certainly had an appeal to it.

Spike slung the coolant bag full of blood and clothes he had been carrying over his shoulder. “She’s a nice looking ship,” he told Mal.

Mal smiled. “That she is.”

There was a young woman sitting in front of Serenity while they approached.

“Kaylee,” Mal called out. “Tell Wash I’m fixing to get air bound as soon as possible. And spread the word that we’ve got a new passenger. Bloke by the name of....” Mal paused and turned to Spike, “Actually, I never did catch your name.”

Spike held out a hand, “Name’s Spike.”

Jayne let out a laugh, “What kinda name is that?”

Mal glared at him, “Jayne, being as you very nearly got me killed tonight, and this boy here saved me, I’d suggest you don’t be talking right now. 

Grumbling, Jayne made his way on to the ship.

Mal shook his head, “Sorry about him.”

“We have to apologize for him a lot.” Kaylee said with a smile.

“Spike, this is Kaylee. She’s the ship's mechanic.”

Spike smirked and shook her hand. “Pleasure to meet you.” The girl was cute, Spike realized, as he looked her over. She reminded him a bit of Willow, back when she wore overalls and ugly sweaters and still liked boys. 

“Gee, it’s nice to meet you too.” She turned back to Mal. “What’s this you were saying ‘bout a fight, Cap’n?”

“I’ll explain later. Let’s get out of here first.”

Mal ushered Spike and Kaylee aboard. As the doors closed behind him, Spike took a moment to think about the fact that he was on a honest-to-goodness spaceship. He’d come a long way in his lifetime, that was for sure. 

“I’ll have Kaylee here find you a room,” Mal said. “After that you and me can talk payment.”

Spike grinned, “Seems like me saving your life back in that bar should at least get me as far as the next planet you plan to stop on.”

“I suppose it should.”

Spike continued, “And I’m pretty sure this kind of thing happens to you a lot-getting attacked in bars and such-I was a help before, I could be helpful again. Especially if my impression that you aren’t always doing the most honest of work is correct, which I think it is.”

Mal studied him for a long moment, “Fair enough. We’ll talk later. Kaylee, show him to his room.”

“Sure thing, Captain.”

Spike happily allowed Kaylee to lead him through the halls of the ship. She chatted happily the whole time, telling him all sorts of details about the ship that he would never remember. He didn’t mind. Her rambling was as cute as she was. The tour gave him plenty of time to flirt with her. He even managed to make her blush a few times.

“Simon!” Kaylee called out as a handsome young man came around a corner in front of him.

“Captain picked up a new passenger. He saved the captain’s life in a bar fight. Says he's going to be with us for a while. This is Spike.”

“Spike?” Simon repeated, a questioning look on his face.

“Old nickname,” Spike explained. “Nice to meet you. Kaylee here has been showing me around.”

He put a hand on the small of Kaylee’s back, and had to resist laughing at the look that crossed Simon’s face. He must have it bad for the girl. This was going to be even more fun then he had thought.

“Simon’s the ship’s doctor,” Kaylee explained. “Oh, Simon. You might wanna go take a look at the captain. He had a pretty bad cut on his face, but you just know he’s never going to get it taken care of on his own.”

Simon nodded, still frowning. “Of course. I’ll you see later. It’s nice to meet you...Spike.”

Simon hurried off with one more glance at Kaylee and Spike.

“A doctor, huh?”

Kaylee nodded enthusiastically. “He’s the best there is. Does all sorts of things here on the ship. People here get injured a lot. One time he even reattached the captain’s ear!”

Spike was about to ask for more details on that one, when there was a voice behind them.

“His heart no longer beats, but he still walks and talks. He’s wrong. He isn’t supposed to be here. This isn’t his place.”

Spike quickly turned to find a thin, pale girl with dark hair standing before him. There was something about her...She wasn’t a Slayer, but something about her still made him uneasy. His whole body tensed up. For some reason the girl in front of him seemed like a threat. She was glaring at him like she could burn a hole right through him.

Kaylee was immediately between them, trying to make things better.

“River. It’s okay. This is Spike. He’s the new passenger.”

“Spike isn’t a name. Spike’s a thing. It shouldn’t be here.” And with that, she turned and simply walked away.

Spike looked around, not sure what he should do.

“Sorry about that. That was River. She’s Simon’s sister. Real smart, genius-like. But the Alliance did something to her head. She says all sorts of weird stuff. Simon’s trying to make her better, but it hasn’t worked yet.””

Spike nodded. He’d have to look out for that girl. She just put all his senses on edge. 

“Anyway, here’s your room. You can get settled in if you want. I’ll come get you when we’re back out in space. I’m sure the captain will want you to meet everybody.” And with that, Kaylee moved off down the corridor, leaving Spike to his own devices.

Spike climbed the short ladder down into his new room and looked around. It was cramped, and wasn’t exactly the Ritz, but it was clean, and Spike had stayed in places that were a lot worse. 

He glanced back to make sure the door was closed then grabbed a pack of blood from his bag and sat down on the bed. 

He was on a spaceship. The ship was crewed, at least partially, by ruffians and criminals. There were weird young girls who might be able to tell that he was a vampire. His future probably held robberies and plenty of violence. 

Leaning back against the wall, Spike grinned. 

 

This was going to be fun.


End file.
